Work Text:
They’re staring.
It’s not very obvious, but from behind the cover of dark brown bangs, there are brief glints of crimson darting your way.
Creepy..
You try hard to focus on the lizard teacher stammering away at the front of the class, but the hairs on the back of your neck still stand on end. Even more unsettling is how this was the first instance of them staring. For the few days you’ve been in school so far, Kris was slumped over on their desk, uninterested in everything around them. But now it seems like they have something to focus on; you, as the new kid.
You moved to a quaint place called Hometown in the late summer, across the road from the town hall, just in time for the school year to start a few weeks later. With a brisk pat on the head as a goodbye from your mother, you set off for high school, bag weighing on your back.
Slowly while you walked through the fog of the early morning, you noticed the distinct lack of humans like you. Bunnies, cats, fish ladies, a ghost, but no humans. That is, until you reached your classroom.
Miss Alphys, you recalled her name finally, had introduced you to the class of 202X when you walked in. “U-uh, hey guys, we have a new student joining us this year,” she had spoken over the chatter, even though her voice sounded like it would be more suited to mumbling. After a few moments of silence and students staring, they returned to their conversations.
There were 8 students sitting at desks, you noted, and one empty desk at the back that you assumed was for you. In front of that one sat a human, red eyes blinking lazily under the shadow of their hair. Upon trying to sit, a snake in a hat and sunglasses spoke up. “Yo, dude! I see, you’re trying to sit, And stuff! But I need, To tell you! If you sit there, Susie’s gonna, Kick your Ass!”
Hearing that there would be a classmate who had a habit of kicking asses, you wisely chose not to sit. “...Thanks,” you told the snake quietly.
For a few moments you lingered by the side of the empty desk awkwardly, until Alphys, seeing your predicament, gathered a blue bird with glasses and a reindeer girl, taking them with her to fetch a new desk.
In the silence the rest of the class was left in, student monsters took it upon themselves to ask questions. Some were intrusive, but it was clear they were just curious.
“Kris never talks about what it’s like to be a…” You caught the brief murmur of somebody near you. Kris. Maybe the other human. Their shoulders squared briefly, listening, already hearing comparison, despite how their head was lowered against their closed notebook.
You were trying your best to answer most of the questions when Alphys had opened the door for the two students carrying your chair and your desk. “Where do you want it, miss?” The deer said, holding the chair, headed for the back of the class. The bird followed, grunting as he hefted the desk, considerably slower. “L-light work, no reaction,” he huffed, as if he wasn’t about to collapse because he was carrying a little table. Alphys directed them to the back right, where you would be able to look between the two rows of desks.
“Thanks, you guys,” she spoke to them while she walked up to the front of the class, letting the two students return to their seats in the front row. “O-okay! Let’s-” As if that was her cue, a purple lizard girl burst through the door, lurking in the doorframe in her baggy clothes. A few tense seconds passed in silence.
“Yo. Teach.” The lizard cleared her throat after the words, shifting in place.
“...Hi, Susie,” Miss Alphys greeted, almost gently. Susie stuffed one hand into her pocket, slouching, yet surely still taller than most of the people in the room. She walked past desks without a word, kicking yours in a way that could have been explained as an accident.
With the way she glowered at you, it would be very hard to explain it as an accident.
She flopped into her chair, the chair you almost sat in, arms crossing while Alphys cleared her throat to begin the first day of school…
That was a few days ago now, and the other human hadn’t paid you any mind up until this morning. But currently, with their arms folded and their head resting on top, their eyes fixated on you, making you feel tense. Like a bug under a magnifying glass.
“A-and, um, it’s like a domino effect, right? This does this, and…” Alphys pointed to an illustration on the board, but you couldn’t really focus on her words or her chalk drawings. Slowly Kris turned their focus back to your teacher, jotting down random things, until their hand strayed and they were scribbling something on the corner of the paper in front of them. You watched as they tore the edge off, crumpled it, then raised their hand.
Once Alphys turned from the board, she seemed startled to see Kris awake, and with their hand raised no less. “Yes, Kris?” She called on them.
“Can I use the bathroom?” They spoke, voice hushed and rasping like they hadn’t cleared their throat in a while. Their hand lowered to hover in front of their mouth, covering the source of the offending sound.
Alphys glanced to the side anxiously. “Yeah, you can… Go ahead.”
They pushed their chair out and stood up, one hand bunched in a fist, the other in their pocket. Instead of going straight for the door, they turned and began to walk behind the desks, strategically walking right past yours. Alphys addressed the rest of the class to ask for questions.
Crimson eyes glistened with the light from the windows, framed by short, fluffy lashes, and briefly met yours while they shuffled by, dropping the crumpled paper onto the surface of your desk with a crinkle. They proceeded to the door and shouldered their way out of the classroom.
You stare at the clump of paper in silence, blinking a few times. Is it really a good idea to open it? Did they even do it on purpose? That one was a silly question; they stared right into your eyes when they dropped the note.
Your hands move to the paper, snatching it off the wood, then beginning to unfold it. It was a tiny corner ripped off of a page in their notebook, jagged little graphite letters writing out a three word sentence.
“you look weird”
Your eyes dart back up to the door Kris had exited through. They had gone to the bathroom simply to drop off that note on your desk.
A few minutes pass before they’re walking back into the classroom, face as blank as ever. They settle heavily into their chair, laying their head back on their desk, seemingly satisfied with the message they had given you.
“Um, d-do we wanna do group work today?” Alphys turned to face the class, holding a piece of chalk. Her question was met with disgruntled murmurs, but nobody objected. “Okay! I guess… Pair up, you guys. I’ll hand out sheets in a bit.”
Immediately students turned to each other, getting into duos. Kris is asleep.
Susie leans back in her chair, hands folding behind her head like she’s stretching. “Psst. New kid.” She looks over at you, her grin all teeth.
“You smart?” She’s still grinning, though her question sounds like more of a threat.
“Umm...” You don’t know what to say to her. “Can you define smart…?”
“Hell no I can’t,” Susie snorts. “You sound smart. Do the work for me.”
She’s still grinning at you. Though now that she’s been doing it for so long, you’re wondering if she’s just showing her teeth off.
You shrug and scoot your desk up to hers. The noise of the metal feet on the tile floor slowly wakes Kris, who glances back at you with an offended glare. They push themselves up from their desk and skulk over to a yellow dinosaur looking kid, who turns away from a blue feathered monster trying to pair up with him, happily picking Kris instead.
“So…” Susie’s claws drum repetitively on her desk.
“Heard you got… uh… blood.”
The small talk is lousy. She knows, you know, and from the way Kris’ shoulders are shaking as they face away from you two, you figure they know as well.
“Hey, twerp!” Susie barks at them, appearing a little flustered. “What’s so funny, huh? Won’t be laughing when I-...” She glances over at Alphys. Alphys stares, holding a few sheets of paper.
“Yeah,” Susie finishes lamely, slumping back into her chair, arms crossing.
“A couple things,” they mumble in response, not turning back towards you two.
“Whatever…” She scoffs, staring down her nose at her desk.
Alphys moves over, pressing a paper purposefully in front of you instead of Susie. “Have fun with that,” Susie murmurs to you, gripping her pencil with a little more force than necessary, scribbling on the notebook she had in front of her.
Looking down at the questions, you realize you weren’t listening to the lesson when none of them make sense. You sigh and begin to bs your way through them. At one point, Susie leaned over to scratch her name in at the top.
You had lost track of time when you heard Alphys tell everyone to turn in their papers. You glance up, scribble your name below Susie’s, then stand up to make your way to the teacher. Before you get far, though, Susie catches your sleeve.
“Show me the thing,” she orders quietly. You oblige and hand her the paper.
She scrutinizes it for a few seconds, eyes darting over the page. “Yeah, looks fine, I guess.” She shrugs and hands it back. You turn away from her hesitantly, half expecting her to grab you again, but she lets you walk off.
Almost immediately after you hand your paper back to your teacher, the bell for the high school students rings. Some students jump up and hurry out of the door, but you choose to take your time, making your way back to your desk to stuff everything back in your bag. You’re left in the class with Miss Alphys, the blue bird you learned whose name is Berdly, currently trying to converse with the poor teacher, and the human, lurking by their desk.
Waiting for you, you think, heart sinking while simultaneously picking up speed.
You stick by the edge of the class and move towards the door, but Kris begins to follow, walking a few paces behind until you both are out of the classroom.
“Hey.”
You tense up a little bit, hands tightening on the straps of your backpack.
“Hey,” they repeat pointedly, as if you didn’t hear their low voice the first time.
“Yeah?” You finally stop and turn to look at them as they approach, their hands lodged in their pockets, sweater bunching up around their wrists.
“Y’read my note?” Their lips quirk at the corner, before they schooled their expression back into nonchalance.
“...Yup!” Your smile is a little forced. “Very, um.. observant. Of you.”
They return your smile. It’s almost menacing. “I’m good at that.”
There were a few moments of tense silence, their eyes boring into yours, standing just a few feet away. You start to turn away, but they make a gruff sound to get your attention again.
“So. Only two humans in this whole damn town, huh? Just us.” Their smile has faded. “D’you like it?”
“..Like what?”
There was a soft huff. “Do you like being a human in a monster town.” They drew out the question slowly, like they thought you were dumb.
Your head tilts a little. You hadn’t exactly thought about it much. “It is what it is, isn’t it?”
“That’s not what I asked.”
You stare for a moment, then look away. “It’s okay. Monsters aren’t really different from humans, right? They just turn to dust immediately, and we.. take a little more time.”
They look at you, unblinking, like they’re trying to process your plebian thought process. “We’re lamer.”
“Are we?” Your brow furrows a bit. That’s news to you.
They nod in a manner that’s almost solemn.
When they just stood there in silence, you tilt your head the other way. “...Why, exactly?”
“Where’s our horns? Our magic?” They say softly, arms crossing. The volume of their voice is quiet, but they still speak in a serious tone.
You feel the top of your head, like you’ll locate said horns and magic. “Not there, I guess…”
“Exactly.”
You blink at Kris within a stiff silence, stunned with just how confrontational they are.
“But no, by all means, you can live on thinking you’re like them.” They wave a hand, dismissive, and begin to walk past you.
Kris had walked a few paces away before you sighed and crossed your arms. “Why are you such a hater?” You speak up.
They freeze.
“I haven’t even had the chance to meet a lot of them. I’m sure they won’t mind if I’m not as “Cool” as they are,” you continue stubbornly, standing there in the hall.
They seem struck by your words, judging by the way they freeze. Slowly they turn around to face you, brow and eyes hidden in a shadow cast by their bangs. “I don’t… think I like you,” they spit, like they can’t stand to keep the words in anymore.
With that, they turn and continue through the hall, footsteps echoing as they exit the building.